BackCreative Talk with Brendon Doig at Brave Digital
Brave Digital are a Design, Digital and Content Studio located in Ponsonby, Auckland.
Brave Digital – give us the backstory – who are you and where did you come from?
Brave was born back in 2011 out of a desire to build a creative-led design agency that focused on activating brands digitally. Creating partnerships with companies that want to make a positive impact on the world.
We now boast a team of 12 incredibly talented and versatile creatives who are passionate about collaboration and challenging each other to deliver quality solutions.
Your website tells us that ‘Great things happen when we get brave.’ How does this play out with your clients / work?
We talk a lot about collaboration and creating partnerships. We don’t use terms like clients anymore as it is too transactional. We want to forge meaningful partnerships which lead to the best results and the most satisfying outcomes for everyone involved.
Being brave is a mindset and a belief in the process. Not settling for just good enough, but being bold and challenging each other to search for better. This has resulted in some of our longstanding partners seeing us and/or relying on us as an extension to their business, or marketing team.
Why are clients choosing to work with Brave Digital?
I think like a lot of successful businesses it is because of our team and our ability to work closely with our partners to create solutions that are built around outcomes, not awards.
Does Brave Digital make the recommendation to clients in regards to what technologies to use / are your clients generally coming to you with legacy systems?
Our technology recommendations are built around what is right for the project or our partner's requirements. There is no one-size-fits-all. But more often than not it is looking at future-proofing the business to allow for growth, scalability and user experience.
Monolithic tech stacks are a thing of the past, with the vast amount of different technologies available and the rapid pace of digital innovation we want to work with and always be pushing for stacks that can be easily adapted.
Where do you see the regular business tech stack going over the next couple of years?
Constantly evolving and needing to adapt to the different challenges and user requirements. Adapt or be left behind.
What does an exciting client brief look like to you?
Not a napkin! Sitting down and talking through the problem and how this can be solved through creative design and digital solutions. But more importantly, talking with partners who inspire you and get you excited to create something that will help them achieve their goals.
We talk a lot about immersing ourselves in our partner’s world, that is the stuff we love. Learning about how we can make a difference and create something exceptional together.
With Brave’s business growth, how have you managed this from an internal culture perspective?
We have been very fortunate to have a core group who have been part of the brave journey for a long time. They help create, maintain and continue to develop who we are and shape our culture.
We are careful about who we bring into the team, choosing the right personality often comes before talent - we need and want to work with people who get what we are doing and can mix it with the rest of the brave team.
Do you look to other companies / have a mentor – whether that is in NZ or overseas - who you look up to?
We are always keeping an eye out for killer content, new technologies and what is happening in our industry. More so in other parts of the world. We love agencies like Ragged Edge but get inspired by agencies that have created ventures and project ownership models like Paloma. This is the future of truly integrated and meaningful partnerships that transcend the service-based offering that currently defines the industry.
How has 2023 been for you? What are you looking forward to in 2024?
It’s been tough, there has been a bit of holding your breath and waiting to make your next move while the economy jumps around a bit. It has also been a transitional period, losing some of our team to OE’s which is understandable and trying to find talent in an incredibly tight creative market which continues to be a challenge.
But overall we are incredibly proud of the projects we have delivered and the continued support of our partners which bodes well for more positive and exciting 2024 and beyond. Can’t wait.
Last words?
In the words of the great David Bowie, “If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always venture a little bit out of your depth. you’re then in the right place to do something really exciting.”
That’s us, come and get Brave and see where that takes you.